The supported highly active and highly stereospecific catalysts for the polymerization of propylene and higher olefins, known up to now are obtained by the reaction of an Al alkyl compound partially complexed with an electron donor compound (outside donor) with a solid component comprising a Ti compound and an electron-donor compound (inside donor) supported on a Mg halide in active form.
Examples of such catalysts have been described in British Patent No. 1,559,194 and Belgian Patent No. 868,682.
Outside donors consisting of silicon compounds containing Sixe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94C bonds also have been described (published Japanese patent applications Sho 79/94590 and Sho 80/36203). Among the various and numerous inside donors such compounds as methyl methacrylate and ethyl pivalate also have been cited.
However, in all the prior art catalysts in which a silicon compound containing Sixe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94C bonds is used as outside donor, esters of benzoic acid and derivatives thereof are used as inside donor.
The performance of the above catalysts, expressed in terms of activity and stereospecificity, is not different from the performance of the catalysts in which ethyl benzoate and similar esters of benzoic acid are used as outside donor.
One object of this invention is to provide new catalyst-forming components comprising, as outside donor, a silicon compound containing Sixe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94C bonds and an inside ester different from the esters of benzoic acid and derivatives, and which result in final catalysts of increased activity and stereospecificity as compared to the components heretofore known comprising, as inside donor, an ester of benzoic acid or derivative thereof; and the catalysts based on such components.
This and other objects are achieved by this invention in accordance with which, and unexpectedly, it has been found that it is possible to increase the activity and stereo-specificity of the prior art supported catalysts comprising, as outside donor, a silicon compound containing Sixe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94C bonds, by using as inside donor an ester having a particular structure as described hereinafter.
The catalysts of this invention comprise the product of reaction between the following components:
(a) an Al trialkyl or an Al-alkyl compound containing 2 or more aluminum atoms linked to each other through oxygen or nitrogen atoms or through SO4 or SO3 groups;
(b) a silicon compound containing one or more Sixe2x80x94OR, Sixe2x80x94OCOR or Sixe2x80x94NR2 bonds (R being a hydrocarbyl radical);
(c) a solid comprising, as essential support, an anhydrous Mg dihalide present in active form and, supported on said dihalide,a Ti halide or a Ti haloalcoholate and an electron-donor compound selected from the following groups of compounds:
(1) mono- and polyesters of saturated polycarboxylic acids wherein at least one of the esteric carbonyl groups is linked to a tertiary or quaternary-carbon atom or to a linear or branched chain of at least 4 carbon atoms;
(2) mono- and polyesters of unsaturated polycarboxylic acids wherein two carboxy groups are linked to vicinal double bond-forming carbon atoms and in which at least one of the R hydrocarbyl radicals of the COOR groups is a branched saturated or unsaturated radical with 3 to 20 C atoms or is an aryl or aryl-alkyl radical with 6 to 20 C atoms;
(3) mono- and diesters of aromatic dicarboxylic acids having the COOH groups in ortho position wherein at least one of the R hydrocarbyl radicals of the COOR groups contains from 3 to 20 carbon atoms;
(4) mono- and polyesters of aromatic hydroxy compounds containing at least 2 hydroxyl groups in ortho position;
(5) esters of aromatic hydroxy acids wherein at least a hydroxyl group is in ortho position to the carboxy group;
(6) esters of saturated or unsaturated carboxylic acids wherein at least one of the hydrocarbyl R and Rxe2x80x2 radicals of the R COORxe2x80x2 group is a saturated or unsaturated branched radical containing from 3 to 20 C atoms, or is an aryl-alkyl radical with 7 to 20 C atoms or R is an aryl radical with 3 to 20 carbon atoms linked to the esteric carbonyl group directly or through a methylene group, and in which the Rxe2x80x2 radical contains from 3 to 20 C when it is a linear hydrocarbyl radical; and
(7) esters of carbonic acid of formula 
in which at least one of the R radicals which can be the same or different is a hydrocarbyl radical with 3 to 20 carbon atoms.
Representative esters which are suitable in preparing component (c) are the following:
Class 1
diethyl diisobutylmalonate, diethyl n-butylmalonate, diethyl-n-dibutylmalonate, diethylphenylmalonate, diethyl-1,2-cyclohexane-dicarboxylate, dioctylsebacate,diisobutyl adipate.
Class 2
di-2-ethyl-hexyl-maleate, diisobutylmaleate, diisobutyl-3,4-furan-dicarboxylate, di-2-ethylhexylfumarate, 2-ethylhexyl-monomaleate.
Class 3
diisobutyl-2,3-naphthalen-dicarboxylate, di-n-propyl, din-n-butyl, diisobutyl, di-n-heptyl, di-2-ethyl-hexyl, di-n-octyl, di-neopentil phthalates, monobutyl and monoisobutyl esters of phthalic acid, ethyl-isobutyl-phthalate, ethyl-n-butyl-phthalate.
Class 4
2,3-diacetoxynaphthalene, 1,2-diacetoxybenzene, 1-methyl-2,3-diacetoxybenzene.
Class 5
benzoyl-ethylsalicylate, acetyl-methylsalicylate.
Class 6
ethyleneglycol-pivalate, 1,4-butanediol-pivalate , benzyl and isobutylpivalate, n-propylpivalate, ethyl diphenylacetate, isobutylmethacrylate, isobutylacrylate, ethyl-benzoylacetate, isobutylpyruvate, isobutyl-trans-3-methoxy-2-butenoate.
Class 7
phenyl-ethylcarbonate, diphenyl carbonate.
Preferred compounds are the esters of maleic, pivalic methacrylic, carbonic and phthalic acids.
As indicated, the esters of the polycarboxylic acids can contain, besides the ester groups, also unesterified COOH groups.
In preparing component (c) the esters are contacted with the active Mg dihalide or the precursors of said dihalides as preformed compounds or the esters can be formed in situ by means of known reactions as, for instance, by esterification between an alcohol or an alcoholate and an aryl halide or between an anhydride or a hemiester of a polycarboxylic acid with an alcohol or by transesterification. The esters can be used, also, in mixture with other known inside donors.
The active anhydrous Mg dihalides forming the essential support of component (c) are the Mg dihalides showing in the X-rays powder spectrum of component (c) a broadening of at least 30% of the most intense diffraction line which appears in the powder spectrum of the corresponding dihalide having 1 m2/g of surface area or are the Mg dihalides showing an X-rays powder spectrum in which said most intense diffraction line is replaced by a halo with the intensity peak shifted with respect to the interplanar distance of the most intense line and/or are the Mg dihalides having a surface area greater than 3 m2/g.
The measurement of the surface area of the Mg dihalides is made on component (c) after treatment with boiling TiCl4 for 2 hours. The found value is considered as surface area of the Mg dihalide.
Very active forms of Mg dihalides are those showing an X-rays powder spectrum in which the most intense diffraction line appearing in the spectrum of the corresponding halide having 1 m2/g of surface area is decreased in relative intensity and broadened to form a halo or are those in which said most intense line is replaced by a halo having its intensity peak shifted with respect to the interplanar distance of the most intense line. Generally, the surface area of the above forms is higher than 30-40 m2/g and is comprised in particular between 100-300 m2/g.
Active forms are also those deriving from the above forms by heat-treatment of component (c) in inert hydrocarbon solvents and showing in the X-rays spectrum sharp diffraction lines in place of the halos.
The sharp, most intense line of these forms shows, in any case, a broadening of at least 30% with respect to the corresponding line of the Mg dihalide having 1 m2/g of surface area. Preferred Mg dihalides are Mg dichloride and Mg dibromide. The content in water of the dihalides is generally less than 1% by weight.
By Ti halides or Ti haloalcoholates and esters supported on active Mg dihalide is meant the above compounds which may be chemically or physically fixed on the support, and not extractable from component (c) by treatment of the same with boiling 1,2-dichloroethane for 2 hours.
Components (a), (b) and (c) are made to react with each other in any order; preferably, however, components (a) and (b) are premixed before being contacted with component (c).
Component (c) may be premixed with either component (a) and/or (b). The pre-mixing of (a) and (b) is conducted at temperatures comprised, usually, between room temperature and the temperature used in the polymerization process.
The pre-reaction of (c) and (b) may be carried out also at higher temperatures. Compound (b) may be also incorporated and made to react with component (c) itself. Component (b) is made to react in a molar ratio with respect to the halogenated Ti compound supported on component (c) of at least 1 and in a molar ratio with respect to the Al-alkyl compound used as component (a) of less than 20 and preferably comprised between 0.05 to 0.3.
In component (c), the molar ratio between the Mg dihalide and the halogenated Ti compound supported therein is comprised between 1 and 500 and the molar ratio between said halogenated Ti compound and the electron-donor supported on the Mg dihalide is comprised between 0.1 and 50.
The silicon compounds set forth in (b) include compounds of general formula:
RmSiYnXp
wherein:
R is an alky, alkenyl, aryl, arylalkyl, cycloalkyl radical with from 1 to 20 carbon atoms;
Y is xe2x80x94ORxe2x80x2, xe2x80x94OCORxe2x80x2, xe2x80x94NR2xe2x80x2 wherein Rxe2x80x2, either equal to or different from R, has the same meaning as R;
X is either a halogen or hydrogen atom or an xe2x80x94OCORxe2x80x3 or xe2x80x94NR2xe2x80x3 group wherein Rxe2x80x3, either equal to or different from Rxe2x80x2, has the same meaning as Rxe2x80x2;
m, n and p are numbers comprised respectively between: m between 0 and 3, n between 1 and 4 and p between 0 and 1; and m+n+p is equal to 4.
Other silicon compounds that may be used are compounds in which two or more silicon atoms are bound to each other through oxygen or nitrogen atoms.
Examples of these compounds are hexaethoxydisiloxane, and symmetrical diphenyltetraethoxydisiloxane 
Preferred silicon compounds are: phenylalkoxysilanes such as phenyltriethoxy or trimethoxysilane, diphenyldimethoxy and diethoxysilane, monochlorophenyldiethoxysilane, alkyl-alkoxysilanes such as ethyltriethoxysilane, ethyltriisopro-poxysilane.
Examples of other suitable compounds are: chloro-triethoxysilane, acetoxytriethoxysilane, vinyltriethoxysilane, butyltriethoxysilane, triphenylmonoethoxysilane, phenyltricy-cloethoxysilane, phenyldiethoxydiethylaminosilane, tetra-phenoxysilane or tetralkoxysilanes as tetramethoxysilane.
The silicon compound can be also formed in situ by reaction of, for instance, a halogenated silicon compound such as SiCl4 with an alcohol or an alcoholate of Mg or Al.
In the catalysts of the invention, the silicon compound is present, in a combined form in the solid product of the reaction between the various catalyst-forming components, in a molar ratio between the silicon compound and the halogenated Ti compound greater than 0.05 and generally comprised between 0.1 and 5.
The Al-alkyl compounds forming component (a) include Al-trialkyls as, for instance, Al triethyl, Al triisobutyl, Al triisopropyl and compounds containing two or more Al atoms linked to each other through hetero-atoms, such as: 
As indicated, Al alkyl compounds in which Al atoms are linked through groups such as SO4 or SO3 are also suitable.
The Al alkyl compounds may be used in mixture with Al-alkyl halides such as, for example, AlEt2Cl.
Component (c) is prepared according to known methods. One of these methods consists in co-milling the Mg dihalide and the electron-donor compound of this invention until the appearance in the X-ray spectrum of the milled product of the modifications above set forth for the spectrum of the Mg dihalide, and thereafter reacting the milled product with the Ti-compound.
Preparations of this type are described in British Patent No. 1,559,194.
Another method consists in reacting the adduct of a Mg halide with an alcohol, with a Ti compound in the presence of an electron-donor compound not containing active hydrogen atoms. This method is described in Belgian Patent No. 868,682.
According to another method, which is described in published German patent application No. 3,022,738, the adduct between the Mg dihalide and the alcohol is reacted in liquid form with the halogenated Ti compound and the electron-donor compound.
Further methods are described in published German application 2,924,029 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,554 as well as in the pending U.S. application of Antonio Monte et al, Ser. No. 206,541, filed Nov. 13, 1980.
Another method consists in co-milling the Mg dihalide the halogenated Ti compound and the electron-donor compound until the Mg dihalide is activated and in treating a suspension of the milled product in a halogenated hydrocarbon, for instance 1,2-dichloroethane, chlorobenzene, methylene chloride or hexachloroethane.
The treatment is carried out at temperatures comprised between 40xc2x0 C. and the boiling point of the halogenated hydrocarbon for a time ranging in general from 1 to 4 hours.
According to another method, a porous support like Sio2 or Al2O3, having a low content of OH groups (preferably less than 1% by weight) is impregnated with a liquid adduct between the Mg dihalide and an alcohol; the support is then treated with an excess of TiCl4 containing, dissolved therein, the electron-donor compound, the procedure being as described, for instance, in published German patent application No. 3,022,738 or Belgian patent 868,682.
In all the above methods, the final product contains a Mg dihalide present in the active form as set forth herein-above.
Other known methods which lead to the formation of Mg dihalide in active form or to Ti containing Mg dihalide supported components, in which the dihalide is present in active form, are based on the following reactions:
reaction of a Grignard reagent or a MgR2 compound (R being a hydrocarbyl radical) or complexes of said MgR2 compounds with Al trialkyls, with halogenating agents as AlX3 or AlRmXn compounds (X is halogen, R is a hydrocarbyl, m+n=3), SiCl4 or HSiCl3;
reaction of a Grignard reagent with a silanol or polysiloxane, H2O or with an alcohol and further reaction with a halogenating agent or with TiCl4;
reaction of Mg with an alcohol and a halogenhydric acid or of Mg with a hydrocarbyl halide and an alcohol;
reaction of MgO with Cl2 or AlCl3;
reaction of MgX2.nH2O (X=halogen) with halogenating agent or TiCl4;
reaction of Mg mono- or dialcoholates or Mg carboxylates with a halogenating agent.
The Ti-halides or Ti halogenalcoholates include, in particular, the Ti tetrahalides, Ti trihalides and Ti trihalogenalcoholates. Preferred compounds are: TiCl4, TiBr4, 2,6-dimethylphenoxytrichlorotitanium.
The Ti trihalides are obtained according to known methods, for instance by reduction of TiCl4 with Al, an organometallic Al compound or hydrogen.
In the case of the Ti trihalides, it may be convenient, for the purpose of improving the performance of the catalysts, to carry out an oxidization, even if partial, of the titanium, either during or after the preparation of component (c). For this purpose there may be used halogens, iodine halides.
Preferred catalysts are those in which component (c) is obtained from MgCl2, TiCl4 and esters of maleic, pivalic and phthalic acids and in which component (b) is phenyl or ethyl-triethoxysilane or diphenyldimethoxy or diethoxysilane.
Component (a) is an Al trialkyl as Al triethyl or Al triisobutyl.
Component (c) is prepared according to the methods described in British Patent No. 1,559,194, Belgian Patent No. 868,682, published German application No. 2,924,029, U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,554, published German application No. 3,022,738 or in the pending Monte et al application referred to supra.
The preferred method of preparing component (c) includes also the co-milling of MgCl2, TiCl4 and the ester and in treating the milled product with a halogenated hydrocarbon, such as 1,2-dichloroethane.
The catalysts according to the invention are used to polymerize the alpha-olefins according to known methods that is by carrying out the polymerization in a liquid phase, either in the presence or absence of an inert hydrocarbon solvent, or in gas phase or also by combining, for instance, a liquid phase polymerization step with a step in gas phase.
In general, the polymerization temperature is comprised between 40xc2x0 and 160xc2x0 C., but preferably between 60xc2x0 and 90xc2x0 C., operating either at atmospheric or at greater than atmospheric pressure.
As a molecular weight regulator hydrogen or other regulators of a known type are used.
The catalysts are particularly suitable for polymerizing propylene, butene-1, styrene and 4-methylpentene. The catalysts may also be used according to known methods to polymerize mixtures of propylene and ethylene to form modified polypropylenes having better shock-resistance at low temperatures (the so called block copolymers of propylene and ethylene) or to obtain random crystalline copolymers of propylene with minor proportions of ethylene.